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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Probiotics are defined as live non-pathogenic bacteria that beneficially affect the host by influencing the microbiota of the digestive tract. Prebiotics, that are usually saccharides and fiber, represent a source of energy being metabolized by the intestinal and probiotic microbiota. In the last several decades, a rapid rise in the use of probiotics/prebiotics occurred for prevention and treatment of diseases in medicine, such as diarrhea caused by certain pathogenic bacteria and viruses, Helicobacter pylori infection, and allergies, etc. Rigid evidence supporting the efficacy of probiotics/prebiotics in such clinical uses and mechanical studies are now needed in order to firmly establish them in modern medicine.

Prof. Dr. Yasuhiro Koga Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

We investigated the effect of a formula containing two different prebiotics (bifidogenic growth stimulator and galacto-oligosaccharide) and fermented milk products on intestinal microbiota and antibody responses to an influenza vaccine in enterally fed elderly in-patients. Patients were administered either formula containing prebiotics and

We investigated the effect of a formula containing two different prebiotics (bifidogenic growth stimulator and galacto-oligosaccharide) and fermented milk products on intestinal microbiota and antibody responses to an influenza vaccine in enterally fed elderly in-patients. Patients were administered either formula containing prebiotics and fermented milk products (group F: n = 12, 79.9 ± 9.5 years old) or standard formula (group C: n = 12, 80.7 ± 10.1 years old) via percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy during a 14-week intervention period. Subjects were immunized with an influenza vaccine (A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B) at week 4 of the intervention. Blood biochemical indices, intestinal bacteria populations and antibody titers were analyzed. Bifidobacterium counts increased significantly in group F compared with group C. The enhanced antibody titers against A/H1N1 were maintained in group F for a longer period compared with group C. The titers against A/H3N2 were unchanged between both groups, and those against B were significantly lower in group F than in group C, although few subjects had seroprotective titers against A/H3N2 and B. These results suggest that administration of the formula containing prebiotics and fermented milk products may maintain antibody titers for longer periods through the improvement of intestinal microbiota.
Full article

In patients with functional upper gastrointestinal disorders such as gastroesophageal reflux disease and functional dyspepsia, the presence of symptoms is thought to occur in the absence of any organic diseases and the mechanisms behind this remain unclear. We therefore examined the relationship between

In patients with functional upper gastrointestinal disorders such as gastroesophageal reflux disease and functional dyspepsia, the presence of symptoms is thought to occur in the absence of any organic diseases and the mechanisms behind this remain unclear. We therefore examined the relationship between stomach-related biomarker levels and symptoms. Twenty-four outpatients who had taken proton-pump inhibitors every day were enrolled in this study. The subjects consumed yogurt containing 109 colony-forming units of Lactobacillus gasseri OLL2716 (LG21) every day for three months. They underwent four clinical examinations in total. Each examination consisted of answering a questionnaire with a frequency scale for the symptoms of GERD (FSSG), and included measurements of the serum gastrin, ghrelin, and pepsinogens I and II levels. As a result, the FSSG score and the PGI value showed a decrease and an increase, respectively, after LG21 treatment when analyzed without age adjustment. A multiple regression analysis with additional adjustments for gender and age revealed a strong association between the PGI value and the FSSG symptom scores. Therefore either the PGI level itself or the factors regulating the PGI level might be involved in the etiology of these symptoms.
Full article

Probiotics have gained worldwide use during the last two decades. However, which probiotic to use in which clinical condition has remained confusing in some clinical conditions. We convened a workshop at Yale in conjunction with Harvard in 2005, inviting a spectrum of probiotic

Probiotics have gained worldwide use during the last two decades. However, which probiotic to use in which clinical condition has remained confusing in some clinical conditions. We convened a workshop at Yale in conjunction with Harvard in 2005, inviting a spectrum of probiotic authorities to discuss and reach conclusions on recommendations for use in common clinical conditions; the workshop was reconvened again in 2008 and in 2011. Each time the group of authorities was enlarged and varied depending on research studies. This article lists the recommendations updated from 2011 and is amended to bring it up to date in childhood and adult diarrhea, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, necrotizing enterocolitis, inflammatory bowel disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, allergic disorders, and radiation enteritis pending our 4th Triennial Yale/Harvard workshop to be convened in 2015.
Full article

At the time of birth, humans experience an induced pro-inflammatory beneficial event. The mediators of this encouraged activity, is a fleet of bacteria that assault all mucosal surfaces as well as the skin. Thus initiating effects that eventually provide the infant with immune

At the time of birth, humans experience an induced pro-inflammatory beneficial event. The mediators of this encouraged activity, is a fleet of bacteria that assault all mucosal surfaces as well as the skin. Thus initiating effects that eventually provide the infant with immune tissue maturation. These effects occur beneath an emergent immune system surveillance and antigenic tolerance capability radar. Over time, continuous and regulated interactions with environmental as well as commensal microbial, viral, and other antigens lead to an adapted and maintained symbiotic state of tolerance, especially in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) the organ site of the largest microbial biomass. However, the perplexing and much debated surprise has been that all microbes need not be targeted for destruction. The advent of sophisticated genomic techniques has led to microbiome studies that have begun to clarify the critical and important biochemical activities that commensal bacteria provide to ensure continued GIT homeostasis. Until recently, the GIT and its associated micro-biometabolome was a neglected factor in chronic disease development and end organ function. A systematic underestimation has been to undervalue the contribution of a persistent GIT dysbiotic (a gut barrier associated abnormality) state. Dysbiosis provides a plausible clue as to the origin of systemic metabolic disorders encountered in clinical practice that may explain the epidemic of chronic diseases. Here we further build a hypothesis that posits the role that subtle adverse responses by the GIT microbiome may have in chronic diseases. Environmentally/nutritionally/and gut derived triggers can maintain microbiome perturbations that drive an abnormal overload of dysbiosis. Live probiotic cultures with specific metabolic properties may assist the GIT microbiota and reduce the local metabolic dysfunctions. As such the effect may translate to a useful clinical treatment approach for patients diagnosed with a metabolic disease for end organs such as the kidney and liver. A profile emerges that shows that bacteria are diverse, abundant, and ubiquitous and have significantly influenced the evolution of the eukaryotic cell.
Full article

Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these
manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers
submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Type of Paper:Critical ReviewTitle: Probiotics and the Overarching Influence on End-Organ Function: A Critical ReviewAuthors: Luis Vitetta 1,2,3, Rachel Manuel 1, Joyce Zhou 1, Anthony W Linnane 1,2, Sean Hall 1Affiliations: 1 Medlab, Sydney, Australia.2 Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.3 School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.Abstract:At birth, humans experience an induced pro–inflammatory flux. The mediators of this induced activity are a fleet of bacteria that assault the skin and all mucosal surfaces. Thus, the initiating effects, which eventually provide the infant with an immunological profile, are concordant with immune tissue maturation. These effects occur beneath an emergent immune surveillance system and an antigenic tolerance capability radar. Over time, continuous and regulated interactions with environmental and commensal microbial and viral antigens lead to an adapted and maintained symbiotic state of tolerance, especially in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), which is the organ site with the largest microbial biomass. However, the perplexing and much debated surprise has been that all microbes need not be targeted for destruction. The advent of sophisticated genomic techniques has led to microbiome studies that have clarified the critical and important biochemical activities that commensal bacteria provide to ensure continued GIT hormesis.Until recently, the GIT and its associated micro–biometabolome was a neglected factor in chronic disease development and end organ function studies. The contributions of the persistent GIT dysbiotic state (i.e., a condition where there is a gut barrier associated abnormality) have been systematically underestimated. Dysbiosis plausibly explains the origins of the systemic metabolic disorders that are encountered in clinical practice; such disorders may explain the epidemic of chronic diseases.In this brief review, we build a hypothesis that posits subtle adaptation responses by the GIT microbiome. We believe that environmentally triggered and maintained microbiome perturbations drive an aberrant overload of dysbiosis. Probiotic bacterial strains with specific metabolic properties may assist the GIT microbiota and reduce the metabolic dysfunction of end organs, such as the kidney and the liver. This effect may translate into a useful adjunct clinical treatment approach for patients diagnosed with a metabolic disorder.